Solutions for Decluttering Challenges
Decluttering can feel overwhelming and time-consuming—but does it have to be? Even the biggest decluttering projects become more manageable with the right approach. Over the past 14 years, I’ve refined my decluttering methods to fit my clients’ unique needs. I love helping people achieve fast results, especially those who have dreaded decluttering for years.
Even clients who enjoy organizing, labeling, and containerizing can struggle with the emotional and mental work of sorting through their belongings. There are many valid reasons we put off decluttering, but the reality is that too much stuff makes cleaning, organizing, and maintaining a home much harder.
Let’s explore some of the most common decluttering challenges—and my solutions. There’s more than one way to declutter!
Declutter by Category
This is a great way to get started when you don’t know where to start. Pick a category (clothes, books, kitchen tools) and declutter it completely.
Focusing on one category at a time allows for quick wins and visible progress. Decluttering by category (e.g., clothes, books, kitchen tools) helps break the process into smaller, more manageable tasks. Many people who struggle with disorganization have duplicates of the same item scattered across different areas of their home. By gathering all similar items in one place, it becomes easier to see what’s unnecessary and eliminate extras.
Build a Declutter Team
Decluttering is hard work—emotionally, mentally, and physically. If staying on task or managing the effort feels overwhelming, consider making it easier by working with a friend or a professional like me. If you stay more focused and accountable when working with a partner, this approach could be the perfect fit.
Many of my clients say that having me by their side helps them stay on track and avoid distractions. Others have no trouble with motivation or decision-making but need help with the physical aspects of decluttering. Having someone to box up items, carry things up and down stairs, and handle the logistics of donations allows them to focus entirely on making decisions.
Deal with Decluttering Regret
The fear of letting go of something we might need later is a common and understandable worry. What if the one thing we let go is needed 6 months from now? How will we deal with what feels like a bad decision? One way to ease our fears is to ask ourselves “what is the worst thing that would happen if we let this go?” If it’s an inexpensive item that is easy to replace, then letting go is probably the right decision.
Another strategy is to give ourselves more time to decide. In these situations, I will box up these items the client is struggling with and store them in an out of the way place. We agree on a date where we will come back to those items and revisit the decision. Often, the realization that they haven’t missed these things gives them the motivation to let the whole box go!
It feels impossible to fit in a big declutter project
If the thought of a large decluttering project feels overwhelming, turn decluttering into a game to make getting started easier and build momentum. When we break decluttering into micro tasks we take away the overthinking and overwhelm that slows us down. Encourage yourself and family members to go with your gut and move fast. Decluttering challenges can give us quick wins and are especially effective for busy families. By doing these challenges consistently, it helps us build consistent decluttering habits. A couple of my favorite examples are:
One-A-Day Declutter – Get rid of one item each day for a month.
10-Minute Dash – Set a timer for 10 minutes and declutter as much as possible.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg - there’s more than one way to declutter! Feel free to experiment with these and other techniques to learn what works best for you. One of the best parts of my work as a professional organizer is helping clients learn what works for them. For every challenge there is a solution that will give quick wins, motivation, and a strong foundation for organizing.